May rejoin the NDA if LK Advani returns at the helm of the BJP: JD(U)

Patna: A day after walking out of NDA, JD(U) President Sharad Yadav on Monday said his party could consider coming back to the alliance if veteran BJP leader LK Advani returns at the helm of the party. "We will consider rejoining NDA if LK Advani returns to helm of the party. We had fought 2009 elections projecting Advani as our Prime Ministerial candidate," the JD(U) chief said.

The statement comes even as both the BJP and the JD(U) have been taking potshots at each other after the split. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar accused its estranged ally of "betraying" and "cornering" elders in the party in an oblique reference to Advani over the Narendra Modi issue.

Nitish said the BJP never made an effort to address the JD(U)'s concerns. "If Atal ji not well, at least Advani could have addressed the concerns raised in the alliance. If they are moving forward without addressing the concerns raised by the alliance, then what could we have done. The central BJP leaders kept calling, asking us not to take a decision. But they were never ready to give us an assurance on what they will do about our concerns," Nitish said.

"We had fought 2009 elections projecting Advani as our PM candidate," said the JD(U) chief, whose party broke the alliance with BJP on Sunday.

Nitish also clarified on his 2003 speech on Narendra Modi released by the BJP. Nitish said praising Modi then was protocol. "When I used to visit other states as a railway minister, those speeches were never political. It's part of the protocol to praise the host state and not to speak against them," Nitish said.

However, hitting back at Nitish Kumar for accusing that the BJP does not respect its elders, Sushil Kumar Modi said that people of Bihar will get to see the 'real' face of Nitish Kumar very soon as the BJP will 'expose' him. "Nitish Kumar's allegations accusing that the BJP does not respect its elders are completely baseless and we really respect LK Advani," he added.

Modi said that the way in which BJP ministers were dismissed was very insulting. The BJP has also called for Bihar Bandh on June 18 to protest against the "betrayal of the people" by the Janata Dal (United).

Nitish Kumar on Sunday ended his 17-year-old alliance with the BJP and making it clear that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's elevation has filled the JD(U) with apprehension about the future of the alliance, also accusing the BJP of succumbing to the 'autocratic personality cult' with no respect for democratic process.